Don’t you need a mortgage broker?

What a week!

Unusually for me, I am quite looking forward to a Friday evening beer and a restful weekend, but I am writing this post because I care about what I do and those I look after.

It’s been a tricky week to say the least and I wanted to share a few cautionary tales from a few of my customers looking to take out mortgages. All are true and have not been embellished. As always, names are changed to protect my customers and providers, although I wouldn’t have needed much tempting…

A DOWN VALUATION ADDS A LOT OF WORK

It all started with a down valuation.

I am not quibbling there.

If a vendor sells a property for more than comparables in the area then its nigh on impossible to win an appeal, but it sends out bad vibes to Vendor, Buyer, Estate Agent and much time is extended sorting out the fallout. In this case, the vendor has reduced his price and the buyer has found more deposit, so all should be ok but it doesn’t half add a lot of work.

That’s really where industry expertise and experience come in to play, enabling the deal to go through.

UNEXPECTED QUESTIONS FROM LENDERS

Then I had an email from a lender asking why Mr Jones, a single chap, was buying a four-bed house!

I wanted to say “he has a big train set”, but I kept my flippancy for Forest Green Rovers football fans and good friends, so I had to explain that his two grown-up children will want to come and stay.

It just goes to show that we’re living in an age of responsible lending, which is a great thing, but does mean you need to be prepared for any question imaginable!

THE CHALLENGES WITH “EX-PATS”

A month ago, I spent a happy afternoon sorting out a lender for an overseas worker mortgage.

I explained everything carefully and the ever-helpful BDM (Business Development Manager, who are a great link between brokers like myself and the lenders) went to an underwriter and got the green light.

My client works 6 weeks on in another country and gets home to Gloucestershire for 3 weeks at a time. He does not even have an address in the country he works.

All this was explained to our lender and told it wasn’t an issue.

But no, Tuesday, the email pings, “Case declined”. Your client is classed by us as ex-pat”.

48 Hours later all sorted, decision turned around and hopefully off we go again, but I honestly don’t think we would have got to that stage without the mortgage industry expertise, and relationships that were built during that previous discussion with the BDM.

THE CHALLENGES WITH MARITAL SEPARATION

Then, to top it all off, today a lender who is helping a customer who has separated from his wife, told me they believed the couple were not separating and it was a ruse to hide that person’s credit difficulties.

Now let’s be very clear here, if there were ruses going on I would be having nothing to do with this customer (I know the family well so we had let’s say a lively conversation about this!).

So I’m more than confident that this isn’t the case, and to prove this to the lender, I had already been sent a tenancy agreement showing her to be living on the other side of the city.

I think we can sort this but more broker hours spent.

It’s challenges like these that make me realise what I do isn’t just getting people a mortgage.

It’s more than that. It’s providing them with great service throughout the process, and trying to make the home buying process as smooth and enjoyable as possible for my clients.

Afterall, I’m very aware that people want a home, they don’t necessarily want a mortgage. They just need one to get there!

ALL THAT SAID, MOST LENDERS ARE FANTASTIC TO WORK WITH

Let’s be very fair here, I get on well with all of the lenders highlighted.

Their front-line sales staff are excellent and they have all helped me right the wrongs.

And if you work for a lender and are spitting at my post saying that’s not us, 97 times out of 100 it is not. 48 weeks of the year, I am a happy little Bunny (44 actually Mrs S says!).

Most cases fly through most of the time, and lenders are there to lend and help, and they do.

The point I want to conclude on (and I look forward to a better week next week), is a question for anyone wanting a mortgage:

“Do busy customers want to be fighting these fights on their own without the level of knowledge or level of contacts that we brokers have?”

If Mortgage robots are going to assist you in the future, they made need to sort out some of their human colleagues first.

Have a good week.

GET IN TOUCH

If you want any help or advice with your mortgage needs, then get in touch with Mark today on 01453 887179 or via mark@hhhmortgages.com.